Building Trust Creates HOW POWER

Building a culture where team members thrive, where guests feel loyalty, and where talent and capital grow together requires trust.

It’s not the surface-level type of trust that coats handshakes and smiles. It’s the life-changing type of trust that only happens when it’s based on strong principles, fully integrated and practiced in daily life. 

When trust is built correctly, it connects every facet of daily interactions.

It goes hand in hand with self-discipline. As team members choose a principle to focus on, then execute consistently, they begin to depend on themselves. 

The way guests are greeted.

The way team members feel at the end of the workday.

Morale in the service department as well as in the finance department.

Even the way the store is arranged can create a sense of openness and trust. It becomes a mirror of how things are run—the individual theme that sets a dealership apart.

Three types of trust are essential:

Self-trust begins with self-improvement. It can begin with training or seminars, but if it stops there, team members never develop the deep sense of self-trust that makes them confident and magnetically charismatic. 

True self-trust happens as the principles taught in team meetings, seminars, and trainings are integrated into daily life. It goes hand in hand with self-discipline. As team members choose a principle to focus on, then execute consistently, they begin to depend on themselves. 

Deliberate, controlled actions start to flow. They take more accountability. Their level of execution rises as they realize that they’re capable of more—and they’re continually proving it to themselves. This creates a culture of empowerment and momentum that allows each person to move from daily actions to habits, to a new identity as a powerfully confident, trustworthy team member.

As team members develop self-trust, trust within the team rises, too. 

A good example is found in Stop Drifting, by David R. Ibarra. The storyline is based on real interactions. Team members shifted from putting themselves down to trying harder. They moved from competition and criticism to celebrating individual successes together. Morale rose. Profits rose. The dealership became a great place to work.

Team members who know they can show up for themselves also know they can show up for their coworkers. They encourage each other. Mentorship becomes a natural part of the culture. They build momentum together, and momentum becomes the new expectation.

This spills over to the theme each dealership creates. When all team members are on board, they’re invested in the theme. They protect it. They understand their roles. They take pride in executing their duties consistently and well.

Team members who depend on each other to create a great theme also begin to trust that guests will respond to it. The deep sense of trust in themselves and others allows them to safely and fully invest in their guests.